LOAF

loaf, properly the mass of bread made at one baking, hence the smaller portions into which the bread is divided for retailing. these are of uniform size (see baking) and are named according to shape ("tin loaf," "cottage loaf," &c.), weight ("quartern loaf," &c.), or quality of flour ("brown loaf," &c.). "loaf," o.e. _hlaf_, is a word common to teutonic languages; cf. ger. _laib_, or _leib_, dan. _lev_, goth, _hlaifs_; similar words with the same meaning are found in russian, finnish and lettish, but these may have been adapted from teutonic. the ultimate origin is unknown, and it is uncertain whether "bread" (q.v.) or "loaf" is the earlier in usage. the o.e. _hlaf_ is seen in "lammas" and in "lord," i.e. _hlaford_ for _hlafweard_, the loaf-keeper, or "bread-warder"; cf. the o.e. word for a household servant _hlaf-æta_, loaf-eater. the late lat. _companio_, one who shares, _panis_, bread, eng. "companion," was probably an adaptation of the goth, _gahlaiba_, o.h. ger. _gileipo_, messmate, comrade. the word "loaf" is also used in sugar manufacture, and is applied to sugar shaped in a mass like a cone, a "sugar-loaf," and to the small knobs into which refined sugar is cut, or "loaf-sugar." the etymology of the verb "to loaf," i.e. to idle, lounge about, and the substantive "loafer," an idler, a lazy vagabond, has been much discussed. r. h. dana (_two years before the mast_, 1840) called the word "a newly invented yankee word." j. r. lowell (_biglow papers_, 2nd series, introd.) explains it as german in origin, and connects it with _laufen_, to run, and states that the dialectical form _lofen_ is used in the sense of "saunter up and down." this explanation has been generally accepted. the _new english dictionary_ rejects it, however, and states that _laufen_ is not used in this sense, but points out that the german _landlaufer_, the english obsolete word "landlouper," or "landloper," one who wanders about the country, a vagrant or vagabond, has a resemblance in meaning. j. s. farmer and w. e. henley's _dictionary of slang and its analogues_ gives as french synonyms of "loafer," _chevalier de la loupe_ and _loupeur_. loam (o.e. _lam_; the word appears in dut. _leem_ and ger. _lehm_; the ultimate origin is the root _lai_-, meaning "to be sticky," which is seen in the cognate "lime," lat. _limus_, mud, clay), a fertile soil composed of a mixture of sand, clay, and decomposed vegetable matter, the quantity of sand being sufficient to prevent the clay massing together. the word is also used of a mixture of sand, clay and straw, used for making casting-moulds and bricks, and for plastering walls, &c. (see soil). loan (adapted from the scandinavian form of a word common to teutonic languages, cf. swed. _lan_, icel. _lan_, dut. _leen_; the o.e. _laen_ appears in "lend," the ultimate source is seen in the root of gr. [greek: leipein] and lat. _linquere_, to leave), that which is lent; a sum of money or something of value lent for a specific or indefinite period when it or its equivalent is to be repaid or returned, usually at a specified rate of interest (see usury and money-lending). for public loans see finance, national debt, and the various sections on finance under the names of the various countries. loanda (_sao paulo de loanda_), a seaport of west africa, capital of the portuguese province of angola, situated in 8° 48 s., 13° 7 e., on a bay between the rivers bango and kwanza. the bay, protected from the surf by a long narrow island of sand, is backed by a low sandy cliff which at its southern end sweeps out with a sharp curve and terminates in a bold point crowned by fort san miguel. the depth of water at the entrance to the bay is 20 fathoms or more. the bay has silted up considerably, but there is a good anchorage about 11⁄2 m. from the shore in 7 to 14 fathoms, besides cranage accommodation and a floating dock. vessels discharge into lighters, and are rarely delayed on account of the weather. a part of the town lies on the foreshore, but the more important buildings--the government offices, the governor's residence, the palace of the bishop of angola, and the hospital--are situated on higher ground. most of the european houses are large stone buildings of one storey with red tile roofs. loanda possesses a meteorological observatory, public garden, tramways, gas-works, statues to salvador correia de sa, who wrested angola from the dutch, and to pedro alexandrino, a former governor, and is the starting-point of the railway to ambaca and malanje. loanda was founded in 1576, and except between 1640 and 1648, when it was occupied by the dutch, has always been in portuguese possession. it was for over two centuries the chief centre of the slave trade between portuguese west africa and brazil. during that time the traffic of the port was of no small account, and after a period of great depression consequent on the suppression of that trade, more legitimate commerce was developed. there is a regular service of steamers between the port and lisbon, liverpool and hamburg. the town has some 15,000 inhabitants, including a larger european population than any other place on the west coast of africa. it is connected by submarine cables with europe and south africa. fully half the imports and export trade of angola (q.v.) passes through loanda.